Flirting with Death: Orion's Daughter (Book 2), page 1
Flirting with Death
ORION’S DAUGHTER
A.J. MORAN
Copyright © 2023 by A.J. Moran
Editor Jenni Gauntt
This book was created for Amazon e-book any other uses are against copyright.
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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For my readers.
Contents
Content Warnings
1. Samantha
2. Lex
3. Raiden
4. Samantha
5. Tyler
6. Alastor
7. Lex
8. Samantha
9. Bellamy
10. Samantha
11. Alastor
12. Samantha
13. Raiden
14. Samantha
15. Samantha
16. Bellamy
17. Raiden
18. Samantha
19. Lex
20. Bellamy
21. Alastor
22. Raiden
23. Samantha
24. Bellamy
25. Lex
26. Samantha
27. Lex
28. Raiden
29. Alastor
30. Samantha
31. Raiden
32. Bellamy
33. Samantha
34. Lex
35. Samantha
36. Alastor
37. Raiden
38. Bellamy
39. Samantha
40. Alastor
Dear Reader
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Also by A.J. Moran
Content Warnings
This book is a work of fiction. Things that are not acceptable in reality are contained inside of these pages. Including a scene that ‘could’ be viewed as non con and is definitely dub con. Torture, darkness, betrayal, graphic sexual situations, and kidnapping are also included.
CHAPTER 1
Samantha
Two weeks.
No contact. No apology. And no demon fighting.
Lex didn't question my decision to hide in Alastor's penthouse. Nor my decision to stomp my phone onto the bathroom floor. He stayed with me and grieved Bellamy's loss right beside me. Let me rant at the absence of Alastor, who made me feel something for him—some kind of hope had blossomed like the flowers he could create, only to be crushed when he left and didn't come back. Lex even stopped Raiden from entering the penthouse the single time he had tried.
I flicked through the television channels for something that had no romance in it because I was done with that part of my life. Well, except for Lex; he could stay. I pulled the soft white soft blanket from the couch around my legs, tucking the edges below my feet. Some action movie I'd never seen before played on the screen. I couldn't say I was really paying attention, because the window held all of my focus. The sky was darkening. Something inside me had enough of the hiding and was ready to face my life again.
"Lex, I think it's time."
He tapped his fingers on his well-fitting jeans and nodded. He knew what I meant. I was ready to face the unforgiving world and take my place in it. The demons still on the loose should be wary, because if they stepped a single foot out of line, that would be the end. I knew now that not all of them were pure evil, so if they behaved, they could stay. I didn't care about The Order's rules; they didn't apply to me now. Not with my newly broken heart. Ironic since I had built such a thick wall around it.
I kicked the white blanket off and went into the bedroom. My clothes from that night, still folded neatly on the stool at the end of the enormous bed after coming back from cleaning, were ready for me. My dagger laid across them. I gently placed the blade on the bed and then got my outfit on. If I was going to play the part, I had to look it too.
With my leather pants and skintight shirt in place, I strapped my dagger into its holder on my thigh, followed by all the smaller weapons in hidden pockets I always carried as a just in case. When I turned back toward the living area, Lex was leaning against the door frame, a soft smile on his handsome face. He uncrossed his arms, revealing the two tattoos that moved around his body. Tattoos I was pretty positive were the shadow creatures that helped us fight. "I'll come with you." He pushed off the frame to follow.
I returned his smile before shaking my head no. "You need to check in at the club, make sure Fantasia is still standing. I'll be okay."
He nibbled on his lower lip and watched me for a moment before giving in. "You're right. The calls and texts aren't enough to really know."
I strolled over to him, feeling powerful now that I had my armor on, not that it was actually armor, but it felt the same. "I'll drop in for a nightcap after I'm done hunting."
His chest was warm as he pulled me to him. He was my safety in this storm I had just weathered. It was hard to leave the penthouse we had shared for the past couple of weeks. And knowing that I would do it alone, by my choice, was almost too much for my heart to handle.
"I'll see you soon." I shrugged into my jacket and headed for the elevator. Taking a last look at the place that had become a haven for me, I sighed. I'll probably never see this suite again. With Alastor gone and probably never coming back, I know I won't have enough money to rent it on my own.
He watched me go, our eyes not leaving each other until the elevator doors shut between us. Would our relationship stay the same? He hasn't talked about loving me still and, although we cuddled, there had been no sex. It was uncharted waters between us.
The lobby looked foreign to my eyes. People milled about on their vacations, unaware of the fact that a demon had sacrificed himself for their safety. I wanted to shout at them that they were only safe because Bellamy had loved me. Because that was the truth, wasn't it? He never used his ability on me fully. I knew that now. After being hit with it right before my mom killed him, I knew without a doubt that he could have taken my life that first night.
"Sammy!" Raiden's voice yanked me out of my memories, and I blinked up at him. Somehow, he had closed the distance between us without me seeing him. "Your mom told me what happened. Are you okay?"
I forced a laugh. "My mom?" I still wasn't sure how I felt about her doing what she did. I knew she thought she was protecting me. It was what any mother would do. But the fact that she knew about Raiden being a fucking dragon and had kept it from me right along with the rest of my family, cut really deep. "You mean the one that cared more about you than her own daughter?"
"That isn't true," he said, automatically coming to the defense of the woman that loved him like a second son.
"You're a dragon, Rai! Not only that, but literally everyone in my family already knew. Everyone but me," I said, hitting my chest, when what I really wanted was to push him away along with all the hurt he was re-awakening inside of me.
"I'm sorry," he said. He looked like he was ready to get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness.
"Yeah, so am I." I moved past him, dismissing all the looks we had gathered at my outburst. In my leather pants, a tight shirt, and weapons all over my body, they would probably think it was some play we were rehearsing. I didn't get far before his fingers wrapped around my bicep, tugging me back around.
"It doesn't change how I feel. I tried to tell you, but we had more important things to do, like find your mom," he said.
I lifted my gaze to his. "I have a job to do. Let go."
He had been awkward right before we got the call, I'd thought about that moment a lot in the past two weeks. It had sent cracks through my resolve, but I hardened myself to his words as much as I could.
"We need to talk," he insisted, his voice breaking.
It was like he reached inside my chest and squeezed, and it made me relent. He was still my Raiden, the boy I had fallen in love with before I even knew what love was. The one that I never thought I could be with. Who had probably kept his distance for more than just being my brother's best friend, because I was pretty sure dragons fell into the same category as demons.
"Fine." I crossed my arms as best as I could with him still holding onto me. "But I have to hunt. Try to keep up."
He dropped his hand and gestured for the door. I didn't wait to see if he followed as I pushed outside into the chilly night. Fall had fully arrived while I hid away in my sanctuary. He fell into step with me as I headed down the street to the edge of the college campus. He shoved his hands into his pockets as the silence continued.
"Say what you need to say," I sighed. My nails scraped against my scalp as I pulled them through my hair. It was loose, harder to grab that way.
"Can you slow down for a second? The streets are empty tonight," he said. "They've been basically empty since—"
"Good, maybe we killed them all." I didn't slow my stride. If anything, I probably got faster. When he spun me around to face him for the second time, I glared up at him and crossed my arms again.
He dropped his hand immediately and scratched the back of his neck. "I should have told you."
I huffed out a sarcastic laugh but said nothing. They all should have told me. It never should have been a secret to begin with. The brick wall at his back held my attention as I waited for him to add mor e. My heart pounded out an uneven rhythm in my ears, and it took everything in me not to walk away right then, hide my head in the sand again, and forget the betrayal that had happened.
"I didn't trust what you would do. I'm a dragon, Sammy."
Blinking, I took in his words. I didn't confirm or deny what he had feared; I had thought them minutes ago. I pressed my lips together as I brought my gaze back to his pleading one.
"I'm not only a dragon," he added when our eyes met.
"What does that mean?" My fingers ran over the seams of my shirt as I held myself, I wasn't sure I could face any more surprises.
"I'm also the last of the royals. I escaped to this world when they slaughtered my entire family. Nyx helped me."
"Lex's mom? The Goddess?" I asked. He nodded and surveyed the street behind me.
"She was there when they attacked. I was young, so I don't know why she was at our palace. I was playing with a friend at the time." He dragged his fingers through his hair and rubbed at his neck. "She coaxed me into the portal, and the next thing I knew, I was here."
"That is why you keep warning me away from Lex. It isn't because he is a demi-god, it's because of who his mom is," I said.
He worked his jaw, the tendon jumping. "She's powerful. She might have saved me at the moment, but why? Gods and Goddesses don't do things on a whim. Nyx has plans for my future that I'm not privy to, and I'm only waiting for her to return and collect."
For a moment, I forgot I was mad at him. But his story didn't excuse the fact that he hid who he really was from me. It was something I was either going to need to let go and forget about, or truly forgive. Was there really a decision?
"Rai, none of that is a valid excuse for not telling me. I'm not going to lie, I'm really hurt by it and the fact that you couldn't trust me. I can't say you are forgiven, because that is going to take time. But I'm willing to try if you are."
"No more secrets or lies," he promised. He hesitated with his words, and it made me instantly feel like he was keeping something from me.
I pressed my lips together and turned away from him; it was hard to trust him, but even harder not to.
"I can't believe you were a dragon the whole time, and I was afraid you'd get hurt coming with me," I said. I looked at him for a moment before I laughed to myself. "No wonder my family didn't have a problem throwing you into danger."
"Yeah." He shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a halfhearted shrug.
"They should have told me." My hurt and disappointment was heavy on my shoulders, weighing me down.
"They left the decision up to me. Don't blame them, they were only protecting me," he said. His shoulders were stiff. The worry for my relationship with my family was clear in the set of his jaw.
I snorted. "Well then they must have forgotten I was their daughter while they were protecting you. Like I would just pull out my dagger and shove it into your chest because you aren't human? You can't defend what they did."
"Always the possibility," he replied, answering my question. "The old you might have."
When I kicked at a rock on the ground, he pivoted toward me. "What do you mean, the old me?"
"Sammy, it is no secret that things were always about good and evil for you. Evil was anything that was a demon, you didn't kill them if they weren't doing anything wrong, but The Order convinced you it was only a matter of time before they stepped out of line. If you had known, it would have changed the way you interacted with me." He paused, his voice breaking again. Clearing his throat, he caught my gaze and held it. "I didn't want that."
He really believed that, and it hurt my heart. I searched his eyes, wanting him to trust everything I was about to say. "Rai, I wouldn't have thought that. Not about you. I played hide and seek with you when we were kids. When I fell off my bike, you helped Ty fix my scraped knee. You beat up the guy that made fun of me in the sixth grade when I decided bangs were a good idea. You're more than a dragon, you're my personal hero, and you always will be. It hurts that you didn't trust me enough to tell me."
He blinked, nodding as he took a step back. Emotions warred on his face, and I wanted to bridge the canyon that was growing between us. I wanted my friend back. Yeah, he had hurt me with his omission and the thought that I would have harmed him, but he couldn't stop his feelings any more than I could stop mine. We might have to start back at the beginning, but I had faith we could fix us.
"Now, enough of this sappy shit. Either help me hunt or go home," I said as I started walking again. The sadness wanted to take over again and force me back into hiding, but I shrugged it off.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile as he fell into step next to me.
CHAPTER 2
Lex
Samantha's pale blonde hair framed her sleeping face. She had come to me after making up with the dragon with some story about my mom saving him. I hadn't slept a wink as I tried to unravel what my mom would have wanted. Nothing came to me. It was possible she was in the right place at the right time and saved him. But on the other side of the coin, she could have been aware of what was to happen and placed herself in that situation. You never knew with Nyx.
I traced her peaceful cheek in the slowly brightening room. She'd be asleep for a couple more hours if she kept the same routine as she had in the hotel. It's crazy that the time with her there was only two weeks.
She mumbled something in her sleep and threw her arm around my waist as she cuddled into my side. This was what I wanted, more moments of her in my bed. Pieces of the puzzle fell into place, everything had to do with Samantha. My mom put Raiden into her path, had encouraged my friendship with Alastor when I was young, and ensured I wouldn't let her go by sending a messenger to tell me to do exactly that.
Why?
As soon as Sam woke, I'd need to pay a visit to Mom. She would play the long game because that is what she had been doing all along, but I could read her. Until then, this was the only place I wanted to be.
"I'm not losing you," I whispered.
She threw her leg over mine and got even closer, if that was possible. My boxers didn't stand a chance as my body reacted to her proximity, and her bare skin against mine conjured several images of how I could wake her up. Not that I was going to. Nope, I would suffer in silence as she snored softly into my chest.
Sleep came to me after that. It might have taken longer than it usually did, but laying still usually brought it on eventually. I blinked open my eyes to the shining sun hitting the bed and cutting a path across my face. Samantha's fingers trailed through the patch of hair near my waistband, and I found her propped up, head in her hand, watching me.
"Hey," I said, my voice rough with sleep. The side of her mouth quirked up as she ran her nails along the elastic of my boxers.
"Hey," she whispered back. Her minty breath told me she had already been out of bed and had come back to watch me sleep. Or to wake me up.
I glanced at the alarm clock, two-thirty. It gave little time before the club had to open. Guess it was opening late today. Kicking off the blanket that only covered my legs now, I leaned up on my elbows.
"I'll be right back." I made quick work of the bathroom and washed my mouth out with mouthwash so I didn't have morning breath. Or rather afternoon breath.
She watched me cross the room back to her. Desire shone in her eyes, telling me exactly what she wanted. As soon as I was within reach, her hands were on me, tugging me closer.
